“Good kid, mad system”: The role for health in reforming justice for vulnerable communities: Let’s invest in better services for high-risk communities rather than in more prisons

Lets invest in better services for high-risk communities rather than in more prisons Australias prisoner population is expanding at an unsustainable rate. Incarceration rates are higher than at any time since federation, and substantially higher than those in most western European countries.1,2,3 Incarceration rates of Indigenous Australians match those of African Americans; these are the most intensely incarcerated subpopulations in the world.1 The over-representation of Indigenous Australians in all stages of the justice system is one of Australias most significant social justice issues. Australian governments are grappling with the costs of building new prisons and, more broadly, fulfilling tough-on-crime agendas.4 At the same time, human rights arguments for reducing overincarceration of Indigenous peoples are aligning with the economic imperatives to contain prison costs.5